Tuesday, January 11 2005 14:05 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Chennai: Senior BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) leader Sushma Swaraj today (Jan 11, 2005) said that the arrest of Vijayendra Saraswathi in the Sankararaman murder case was an 'assault' on a religious institution and demanded that the Centre issue a direction to the Tamil Nadu Government to act as per the Constitution.

"There is a motive behind the arrest. The Supreme Court has already said there is no prima facie (case) against Kanchi Seer Jayendra Saraswathi. But the Tamil Nadu police has arrested the junior pontiff in the same case", she told reporters in Chennai.

"It is not an individual case, but an assault on a religious institution. So the Centre should issue directions to the State under Articles 256 and 257 of the Constitution', she said, adding that it was not enough if the Prime Minister merely wrote a letter to the Chief Minister, expressing apprehensions that the junior Seer would be arrested.

She said that the pooja to the main deity of Chandramouliswar had been disrupted due to the arrest of Vijayendra, something which had never occurred in the 2500-year history of the Mutt.

"The Government has gone berserk", she added.